Pages

Thursday, 24 September 2015

'One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world.' Malala Yousafzai - by Liz Kessler

I’m off to London today to see a film.

Given that I live in Cornwall, it’s a long way to travel to
go to the cinema. But then, this isn’t just any film; it’s the movie premiere of He
Named Me Malala, which I’ve been invited to see because Malala and I share a
publisher.

As soon as I realised that the date of this event coincided with my ABBA post, I knew that there
could be no better subject for me to write about.

Malala is not just one of the most amazing teenagers alive
today. She is one of the most inspiring, wise, brave and intelligent people you
could imagine meeting. Not that I have met her. But I have read her book, I Am
Malala, and that left me in awe of this incredible young woman.

As authors, we often get asked to do interviews for blogs.
On this occasion, I decided to turn the tables and interview my publisher
instead. So here is Fiona Kennedy, publisher of I Am Malala, talking about why
this book – and Malala herself – is so important and so special.

LK: Can you tell me how you felt when you first heard
Malala’s story?

FK: I first heard Malala's story like everyone else on news
broadcasts in 2012 - she was the young girl from the SWAT valley who had been
shot at close range by the Taliban for speaking up for her right - and every
child's right - to an education. She was flown to England in a critical
condition and no one knew whether she would survive. Like everyone, I
was shocked by this, but at the time it was first reported had no idea how
significant Malala's story would become to the world.

Malala did survive and is more passionate than ever
about everyone's right to live in peace, to have equality of opportunity
and to be treated with respect. We particularly wanted to emphasise the
importance of her message about education and there's no better way to sum that
up than with words from her powerful, memorable speech to the UN on her 16th
birthday: 'one child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world.'

LK: Did you face any obstacles/challenges along the process
of publication?

FK: I worked closely with my US colleague at Little, Brown,
Farrin Jacobs, who came over to England for weeks to work with Malala.
Malala was still recovering from her ordeal. She had a busy timetable: school,
first and foremost (she has been studying for her GCSEs and has just got
brilliant results). During that time, many, many invitations from all around
the world came pouring in to her, and she, her family and her team were always
generous with their time.

LK: How do you feel to be the publisher of this book?

FK: It is a huge honour to publish Malala's story
and, in whatever way possible, to help spread her words and message as far
as possible. This is a book close to her heart, and it's one that absolutely
everyone - not just a teen audience - should read. It's written in the
first person by Malala and really tells the story of the girl behind the icon -
from Nobel Peace Prize to netball courts.

She may be the youngest ever winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
and one of the most important teenagers in the world, but she's also a girl
growing up in a new home, going to a new school, making new friends. It’s been
fantastically interesting and a privilege to publish this book – and I know I
speak for the whole team involved with it at Orion. We’re really excited for
publication of our Indigo paperback edition and the brilliant documentary about
to be released in November. The book and film are perfect companions.

As J K Rowling has said: 'Malala is an inspiration to girls
and women all over the world'. She's right. Every word counts – and reading
this book, it's impossible not to feel a whole range of emotions.

LK: Have you met Malala? What’s she like?

FK: I was lucky enough to meet her and her family at their
home in Birmingham. She's just extraordinary. Tiny and gentle, but
with such presence and such a sense of purpose and determination. I am sure she
will fulfil all her ambitions. She is truly inspiring just to be
with. She's chatty, charming and witty - we talked about everything
from why English schoolgirls roll their skirts up at the waist (very puzzling
to Malala given our rainy, cold weather), to her practising for the school
debating team, to how she is still recovering, to teasing her brothers, to
missing her old home - all sorts of things. The family are incredibly
close - it was a pleasure to meet them.

LK: What does the future hold for Malala, and for girls the
world over still denied the education and the rights that she is fighting
for?

FK: Malala is continuing her studies and her tireless work
with the Malala Fund which reaches far and wide. She brings hope and with
that hope, positive change for the future. Her 'Books not bullets' remains such
an effective message.

LK: If you could tell young people today one thing from
Malala’s story to inspire them, what would it be?

FK: We all have the power to make things better for each
other in some way - large or small. We probably have an inner strength that we
have never had to test to the full, but it's there. I'm not saying we
could all be as brave and amazing as Malala is, but we all have potential to do
more.

Thanks Fiona. And thank you Malala, for being an incredible and genuinely awe-inspiring individual.

4 comments:

Malala managed, with everything else she was doing, to get excellent exam results last year. She is an amazing person doing an amazing job. We all need to remember that she is young and she needs to be supported as well.

Interesting to reflect: if any one of us wrote a novel with a heroine who has achieved what she has and survived what she survived, both publishers and the public would throw it aside and dismiss it as unbelievable.